1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses, image processing methods, and programs. Specifically, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program which combine a copy forgery inhibited pattern image with the background of an image and output the combined image, for the purpose of suppressing unjust counterfeiting and information leakage of an important document by its image duplication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some of receipts, securities, and certifications, a special pattern is printed in the background so as to cause a character or an image to stand out, in order to prevent the duplication from being easily performed. This special pattern is generally called a “copy forgery inhibited pattern image”. By adding the copy forgery inhibited pattern image to the background, there is provided a mechanism to enable an original document not to be duplicated easily even by the duplication, and thus an effect of suppressing the duplication of the original document is realized although it is at a psychological level.
A region where a dot remains after duplication (referred to as a “latent image part” in the present specification) is configured with block dots in which respective dots are concentrated, and a region where the dot disappears after the duplication (referred to as a “background part” in the present specification) is configured with dots in which the respective dots are dispersed. Thereby, it is possible to create two regions having characteristics different from each other while having approximately the same dot density.
In the case where the copy forgery inhibited pattern image is required to be used, although a dedicated sheet preprinted by a sheet maker may be used, there is realized a technique of creating the copy forgery inhibited pattern image in a software manner and outputting a document in which the copy forgery inhibited pattern image is arranged in the background, through the use of a printing device (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-197297).
Meanwhile, in the field related to the present invention, there is known a method of reducing running cost of a printing device to reduce expenses, by using a function of making image density lower and reducing consumption amounts of toner, ink, and the like (saving mode).
Here, in the case of performing printing in the saving mode on an image to which a copy forgery inhibited pattern image is added, not only the density of the image but also the density of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image becomes low and thus the latent image part does not stand out and it becomes unable to obtain the effect of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image.
Therefore, in the prior art, exclusion processing is carried out to enable the copy forgery inhibited pattern image not to be printed in the saving mode. In this exclusion processing, the saving mode becomes invalid at the time of the setting of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image addition.
Alternatively, in the prior art, the saving function of the toner and ink in the saving mode is applied only to the image, and the printing of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image always at the same density prevents the effect of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image from being lowered.
However, in the exclusion processing in which the copy forgery inhibited pattern image addition and the saving mode cannot be set at the same time as described above, in the case of placing priority on the copy forgery inhibited pattern image addition and making the saving mode invalid at the time of setting of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image addition, it is not possible to suppress the toner consumption amount. Accordingly, there has been a problem in which it is not possible to reduce the running cost of the printing device.
Furthermore, in the case of placing priority on the saving mode and enabling the copy forgery inhibited pattern image not to be added at the time of the setting of the saving mode, it becomes unable to realize the effect of suppressing the duplication on all the printed matters regardless of the contents thereof, and thus there has been a problem related to security.
Alternatively, in the case of performing the printing in the setting of the saving mode by making density lower only for the image and keeping the same density for the copy forgery inhibited pattern image, the density of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image is not changed while the density of the image becomes lower. Accordingly, density difference becomes small between the image and the copy forgery inhibited pattern image which is the background of the image, and visibility of the image is lowered considerably. Moreover, since the density of the copy forgery inhibited pattern image is the same, there has been a problem in which the effect of the saving mode is also lowered.